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Home , Batting (cricket), Harbhajan Singh, Mark Waugh, Shane Warne, Steve Waugh, VVS Laxman

/ TEST AMAZING TURNAROUND VIJAY LOKAPALLY

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Harbhajan Singh and V. V. S. Laxman, the heroes of the Kolkata Test.

VEN as the team was drenched in the success of won after being asked to follow-on. So none gave an epic victory at the , the skipper a chance. And with good reason, too. The , so demonstrative of his emotions Australians were on a winning spree with 16 con- on the field, maintained a stern countenance off it. secutive Test triumphs and there was no sign of their He was waiting to explode really. His response to every being defeated when the battle resumed after tea on query was measured and he made no effort to hide the final day. had lost three , but his anger. "This is a reply to all," he thundered. more importantly was at the . Reply to all it was. Hounded long for its non-per- "I had a gut feeling," confessed formance, the team was now getting back at its critics later. Ganguly spoke of how the team was confident after winning a Test match which saw the mighty of pulling it off. Coach John Wright, under fire after Australians suffer a most extraordinary defeat. the defeat at , drove home the point that they The 'Man of the Match' distinction went to V. V. had to play to their strength. Its vulnerability against S. Laxman in a most appropriate recognition of his spin surfaced at a dreadful moment for the visiting awesome contribution. His individual score of 281 team and there was a sensational collapse that left was a landmark feat, not to forget the 13- haul Steve Waugh and his men red-faced. by off-spinner . "My greatest day," The Test match had a predictable start. The gushed Harbhajan even as Laxman. as impeccable in Australians, not very impressive on the opening day, his behaviour as ever, stressed, "great honour for me staged a remarkable recovery through Steve Waugh's no doubt, but I'm more pleased by the fact that my 2 5 th Test hundred and had India on the mat when helped the team win the Test." the home team crashed in its first . It was a Only two teams in the history of the game had true test of character in the second essay for a team

10 The SportStar March 24,2001 | honestly. And then he i turned his attention | towards the critics who > had painted a poor pic- > ture of his obsession with technique. "That"s the way I bat and I can't change it to suit some individuals. I may not present a pleasing pic- ture when I am , but the team knows I try hard and in the end that counts more I sup- pose," he said. Dravid's emotional reaction, thrusting his bat towards the commen- tator's box. was a true reflection of his achievement, and of course the sense of con- quering one of the best attacks in the world. It was one of the greatest Test matches. The intensity was evi- dent on all the days and the feature of India's recovery was that it was

Laxman (above) punishes , while (right) despatches w . The duo took batting to Himalayan heights. > which spoke of batting being its strength. The failure of Sachin Tendulkar weighed heavily on the Indian dressing room, but the form of Laxman was a con- stant source of encouragement. When Tendulkar was dismissed in the second innings. India seemed to be staring at certain defeat, but then Laxman and Ganguly launched the resistance. This was followed by the matchwin- ning between Laxman and Rahul Dravid. The Australians, always so professional, ran out of ideas as the Indian pair compiled a partnership of 3 76 runs. "We knew we had to bat long. We kept talking to each other and what kept us going was the tremendous sup- port from the spectators," remarked Laxman. For Dravid. it was an innings which took a lot of load off his mind. He did not mind conceding the three spot to Laxman. "I feel happy that he grabbed the opportunity," Dravid said nary in this match. The collective effort by the Indians was what stood out. The close-in catch- ing was outstanding and as Ganguly insisted, it was a team effort. "It was such a shame that we were written off after just one Test. To be taken apart by our own countrymen hurt a lot. The victory had two lessons. First to never give up and second to never write anybody off." Steve Waugh took a balanced view of the defeat. "Of the 16 we won, we did come under pressure in a few. This was not a new experience for us of facing pressure. Once India had a lead of 300 it was in the box seat." Steve Waugh made no excuses. "In the last two hours we looked pretty ordinary. There was nothing wrong with the pitch and you would expect the ball to turn on the fifth day of a Test match. It was a very good Test pitch. It's not end of the world. Life scripted by two youngsters who had been struggling goes on," said Steve Waugh, disappointment written to convince the people who matter that they had the large on his face. potential. Laxman"s plea for a place in the middle India's domination in the match was possible order was granted only recently and Harbhajan pros- because of Laxman's belief in himself and Harbhajan's pered because of a caring . "I always knew desire to make an impact at least for the sake of the he had the potential and that's why I had always sup- support that Ganguly gave him. "I had to bowl a steady ported his inclusion," said Ganguly on his line because there was some turn on the last day. I matchwinning off-spinner. am very happy I could contribute to an Indian vic- India had been searching for a quality spinner tory," said the chirpy Harbhajan, a smile returning and the number of those tried and those recalled to his face after a long time. suggested a dearth in this department. Harbhajan Laxman was the toast of the nation for his grand changed that impression with his wily stuff which knock. "I would like to acknowledge the support from saw him force some of the best batsmen on the cir- Rahul," said the Hyderabadi modestly. As he recount- cuit into submission. His 13-wicket haul was as ed those difficult moments in his career when failures significant as the centuries by Laxman and Dravid. outnumbered successes, Laxman gave the impression Another factor that worked against Australia was the of a man who was now at peace with himself, hav- abject failure of Shane Warne. He looked most ordi- ing accomplished a task which should ensure a slot

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Harbhajan Singh's bag of tricks bemused the Aussies. Here is the hapless victim in the second innings. Harbhajan's hat-trick in the first innings was the first by an Indian in . of his liking in the team. The huge first-innings deficit that India conced- ed did not take away the spirit to fight from a bunch which had vowed to make a collective charge. S. Ramesh came good in the second innings even as Shiv Sundar Das got out after promising a long innings on both his visits to the middle. Das, of course, shone as a close-in fielder. Tendulkar's failure as batsman was a blow, but then he assumed the role of a spinner at the right time. His crucial strikes shattered hopes in the last of the match. "It was great," remarked Tendulkar as he finished with three wick- ets. Ironically, it was Ganguly's move to bring Tendulkar into the attack at Mumbai that had invited criticism for the Indian skipper. Here, it became a master stroke. The Australians certainly pan- icked on the last day when the ball was turning enough to test their footwork. Their obsession with the sweep to deal with the turning ball did not help and a couple of poor strokes hastened the Australian end. "We knew they would crack under pressure," said Ganguly and cred- it to him for not easing the pressure on the opposition at any time. A team which had been writ- ten off by one and all had staged a sensational comeback. The true character of the side was tested after the first innings collapse and it was good news for Indian cricket that it had discovered some committed

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Sachin Tendulkar added an dimension to the Indian attack, picking up three wickets in the dramatic post-tea session on the final day. Here he traps leg before.

14 The Sportstar March 24,2001 I players. g The period of transition continues, but | as Ganguly pointed out, the team needs > support. "It is just a beginning and we would > like to seek the support of our countrymen. We all welcome criticism, but not in the way it has been on us. Please try to under- stand we are all trying our best and are in the process of forming the right combina- tion," the Indian skipper said. Amidst wild celebrations that followed the victory, Wright struck a note of caution for the team. "The players have to keep their feet firmly on the and not get car- ried away with this victory. At this level, you have to work very hard and keep work- ing even harder," the coach said matter-of-factly. It was one of India's finest achievements in cricket. To have come back from the posi- tion the team was in at the end of the second day was fairy-tale stuff. "We had never lost hope," Dravid said of the grand recovery. The Eden Gardens, a great Test venue, deserved such a contest. And the Indians could not have asked for a better place to begin their revival from. The city of joy had given Indian cricket new heroes even as the victory gave the image of the team a refresh- ing change. It was a fascinating end to a most intense Test match.

Steve Waugh, the Australian captain, was able to do the rescue act in the first innings with a century.

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